Choosing to be Family
by LadyDeb1970
Summary: There's family given to us by blood. . .and there's family we choose for ourselves.  And sometimes, the two coincide, as Jack Harkness learns after the initial 456 encounter in 1965.


Choosing to be Family

Disclaimers: Jack Harkness belongs to BBC and Russell T. Davies (although I still think I would take better care of Jack). John Keller belongs to the _Transformers_ franchise (he was the Secretary of Defense in the first movie if the name's unfamiliar). His wife Corinna and their daughter Alexandra belong to me. I don't mind if you borrow them. . .just please ask first, and return them to me alive, intact, and more or less unscathed.

Author's Note: This is the first story in a crossover series for _Torchwood_ and _Transformers_. The short version of the back-story is, in 1965, it turned out that one of the orphans turned over to the 456 actually did have family, someone rather high in the British Government. And, surprise surprise, this someone was not amused by the actions taken. . .so guess who the scapegoat was? To avoid some very uncomfortable questions, Jack was sent to the US until things settled. There will be further explanations for deviations as I continue with each story-including the murder-suicide at the end of 1999, the mess of Canary Wharf and its aftereffects, and most importantly, why Jack agreed to leave Cardiff when the card girl in _Fragments_ told him that the Doctor would eventually return there. Oh, and there will be characters from other fandoms popping up. There are additional notes at the end, to clarify things further.

Fort Carson Army Base

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Late April 1974

It began as such a _nice_ evening. Yes, her husband couldn't make it tonight (the price of duty), but he sent his best friend to act as her escort. The man was an unapologetic and irrepressible flirt, but he appreciated other people's boundaries. Unfortunately, as they left the function and headed for her car, they were confronted by. . .something. She remembered little of what actually happened. Her friend pushed her behind him protectively and drew his gun, that much she remembered. However, her memory was blank between that moment and when she came back to herself to find her friend, their friend, dead in her arms. In one of those cruel ironies, his body was eviscerated, but his face was untouched by the claws of that. . .thing. She wept a little, kissing his forehead once again as she gently rocked him from side to side as if he was her little brother.

She knew this might not be the end. Her husband told her that their friend would come back, that he always came back. But as she sat in the alley, cradling his bloody and torn body against her swollen belly, she wasn't so sure of that. Even if she could accept that someone could back from the dead (aside from Jesus or Lazarus), the idea that someone who was all but torn apart was. . .well, she couldn't imagine it. The pain he must experience as his spirit returned to his body! She shuddered. . .and froze as the bloody tears in his body knitted. She. . .she couldn't have just seen that. However, if the sight of his flesh becoming whole was mind-bending, what came next was simply. . .

The body in her arms took a deep, gulping gasp of breath, back arching against her, and she barely managed to keep from squeaking in horror. Paradoxically, she tightened her arms around the man, who rasped out hoarsely, "Rinna? You okay, the baby okay?" The kiss she pressed against his temple must have reassured him, for he sank back against her body. He mumbled, "Guess you're both okay. . .ow! Careful, kid!" Corinna Winton Keller giggled in spite of herself, quite sure that she lost her mind and entirely too happy with that conclusion. She didn't care. John told her the truth, he hadn't exaggerated. That. . .that monster killed their friend, but he was back now, Jack returned to them.

"You know how little ones are, sweetheart. . .I think you scared her," Corinna teased gently as the two friends clung to each other and helped each other up. It was actually a toss-up, as to whom was holding up whom. . .the recently revived Captain Jack Harkness or the heavily pregnant Corinna. The woman continued, keeping a supportive, protective arm around his waist, "Now, if I remember correctly, and I'm sure I do, my car is around here. Let's get you to the car, and then home." He opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, but Corinna pressed her finger against his lips, murmuring, "Shush. You died tonight, died in my arms, to save my baby and me. I'm gonna take care of you now."

"Hmm, beautiful and stubborn, always a winning combination. OW! You're worse than the kid!" Jack protested. Corinna rolled her eyes. Oh, he was fine, getting torn apart, but he howled like a kid when she slapped his shoulder. Typical. But any (mild) irritation she felt toward the dark-haired man vanished as he asked seriously, "You're all right, though, you weren't hurt?" She shook her head, half-expecting the next question, which was, "How, exactly, did you scare that thing off? And no, I don't know what it was. . . didn't look like anything I saw in Cardiff." His voice became strained, as it always did when he spoke of the decades he spent in the Welsh city.

She hugged his arm, as she always did when Cardiff came up. Her husband met Jack nearly ten years earlier, only days after he disembarked from a flight that took him from Cardiff, Wales to John's hometown of Chicago, Illinois. That was about five years before John and Corinna met, and to this day, Jack never talked about why he left Cardiff, much less what he was doing there. His accent was consistent with the Midwest (or so John told her), but he spent several years in Cardiff. Now she wondered just how many years. She just saw him come back to life. . .who was to say how old he really was? She wouldn't ask, though. Instead, she replied, "Well, you're safe, and it never even touched me, much less the baby, so we won't worry about it. But I meant what I said, young man, when we get to the house, you are resting! I insist."

Jack smiled, even if his eyes reflected sadness, rather than mirth, and teased, "Is that right? You sure that you just want me resting?" Corinna swatted his butt this time, and Jack laughed outright, adding, "Oooh, I knew you found me irresistible. . .most people do. . .but you waited until now!" Corinna rolled her eyes, although she really should have expected something along those lines. She supposed she should have been grateful than he didn't mention anything about her pregnancy hormones. . .especially since she was ninety-nine percent sure John told their friend about a day in the very recent past when Corinna all but tore off her husband's clothes as soon as he got in the door.

"Of course I find you irresistible, silly, but John and I already have three in our bed, we can't really fit anyone else in!" Corinna returned, drawing a delighted smile from her companion. She hugged his arm again, in companionship this time, rather than for comfort. He really was a handsome man (although his smile needed to be registered as a lethal weapon), even if she was starting to suspect that he wasn't nearly as young as he appeared. Corinna herself was twenty-four, and his habit of referring to her and John as kids sometimes rankled. But maybe. . .it shouldn't. He wasn't generally condescending when he called them 'kids,' sounding almost matter-of-fact about it.

"That, I can appreciate. . .contrary to popular belief, I do have standards, and 'dancing' with a fetus is a little bit much even for me," Jack replied. Corinna winced. Oh, that was an image she did not need! She was quite aware of what 'dancing' meant to Jack, and it didn't involve a small child tucked against his chest as he danced around the living room or kitchen. As they reached the car and settled themselves inside, Jack asked slowly, "Rinna? Why didn't you. . .I mean, when I came back, you were holding me, and you didn't shy away. Why. . .?"

The switch to this particular topic startled her, but Corinna replied, "I suppose I was just too grateful to have you back. Well, it didn't hurt that John told me about your interesting habit of not staying dead shortly after we were married, but I didn't believe him until tonight. Besides. You mean so much to both John and me. . .I don't think we'd be together if it wasn't for you. John told me that you manipulated him into asking me out by threatening to do it yourself." She noted just how pale he really was, the dark circles under his eyes, and brushed her knuckles against his cheek, adding, "Besides, it would be terribly churlish to turn against the man who just saved my life and the life of my baby girl. My mama and daddy raised me better than that."

"I. . .thank you. For obvious reasons, I don't tell most people. I wouldn't have told John, but coming back to life after being shot in front of him. . .didn't leave me any other choices. And unfortunately, I didn't have any Retcon with me. There are some things that you just shouldn't have to see, shouldn't have to remember," Jack replied as she started the car. Corinna nodded her understanding, though she had to wonder what the hell Retcon was, or even if she wanted to know. Jack distracted her (and wasn't he good at that) by adding, "And why do you keep saying the baby is a girl? It could be a baby boy, you know, and you could name him 'Jack' after his favorite uncle." He offered her one of his cheekiest grins.

Corinna was relieved to see the light and laughter returning to Jack's eyes, and teased as she drove home, "I just know that I'm havin' a girl, Jack! Mothers know these things. I'm havin' a little baby girl, and we're namin' her 'Alexandra Elizabeth' after our respective mothers. And what makes you so sure that we'd name any son of ours after you?" Jack affected a mock-hurt look, complete with a pout and clapping his hand dramatically over his heart. Corinna giggled a little in spite of herself, acknowledging, "Okay, so we'd name a boy 'John' after his daddy and call him 'Jack' after our best friend. I can't wait until our Alexandra is born. I have a feeling you're gonna be even better with her than John is!"

Some of the laughter died from his eyes, as he murmured, "Not so sure I'm fit to be around kids, Rinna. Hell, if you knew even _half _of what I've done in the past, you wouldn't want me anywhere near you, much less your child!" There was no bitterness in his voice, only sorrow and guilt and grief. But Corinna was having none of that. She was young, yes, but she wasn't a child. You didn't grow up as the only daughter of a Foreign Service Officer (with four brothers) without learning a few things about people. And while she was driving, and couldn't touch him with her hands (more like slap some sense into him), she still had her words.

"We all do things we regret, Jack Harkness. But when all is said and done, you're a good man. You sacrificed yourself to save us, and that means more to me than anything. So don't let me ever hear you say something like that again, do you understand? You are our friend, Jack, and we love you. That means all of us. Our Alexandra doesn't kick for just anyone, you know, but she kicked for you. She recognized your voice, recognized that you belong with us. Now if a little baby girl, who hasn't even formally met you yet, can recognize that, why can't a man as old as you do the same?" Corinna demanded. Dead silence met her question, and she nodded to herself in satisfaction. Wasn't often that she silenced John or Jack, and she enjoyed those victories when they happened.

However, she didn't enjoy _long_ silences. While Jack could be quiet, it seemed), this silence felt wrong. And when it went on longer than she liked, Corinna decided it was time to ask some questions. He might not answer, but then again, he might. Maybe because of the way she grew up, Corinna wasn't angry that she knew so little about Jack. He was a very private person. . .she _still _didn't know his birthday. . .and simply telling someone a secret like that was just asking for trouble. She asked softly, "So just how old are you, Jack? I'm bettin' that you weren't born like that. If you were, then you wouldn't die and come back to life." He was silent and a sidelong glance told her that he was shivering. Corinna reached forward and turned on the heater. It was damn cold out, now that she thought about it, though she had a feeling that wasn't why he was shivering.

"I. . .no. I'm really not sure what happened. I was very mortal once upon a time, and now I'm not, and I don't know why. As to how old I am. . .I was in my early thirties, thirty-five at most, when I became immortal, and I've been here. . .for a long time. I suppose I'm getting close to a hundred fifty years old," Jack replied somewhat hesitantly. Corinna noted the way he phrased that, he had been here for a long time. Indicating that he was elsewhere before then, and she had a feeling he didn't mean Cardiff. However, she would allow his secrets. He would tell her more when he was ready.

Instead, she murmured, "Close to a hundred fifty years old. . .I know men from high school who would kill to look as good as you do." That won her a grateful smile with only a touch of flirtation in it. Truthfully, that worried her. She hesitated briefly, and then made her decision. In for a penny, in for a pound. Corinna asked softly, "I don't mean to bring up any more bad memories, Jack, but it's been nearly ten years since you came here. Why haven't you gone home to Cardiff?" She immediately regretted asking the question, as his face closed over. Oh, he was smiling still, but the warmth and the light went out of his bright blue eyes.

"I was told when I left that they would contact me when the dust settled enough for me to go home. John did some checking for me earlier in the year, just in case, and I was on the list of people not allowed into the United Kingdom. Oh, I could sneak in, I suppose. It's not as if they can kill me. . .well, they _can_, it just won't do any good. But. . .I'm not ready to go back. Suppose I have more I need to do here," Jack replied with a slight shrug. Corinna bit her lip. John really didn't tell her much about the reason for Jack's exile here, and she wasn't about to ask Jack about it. He was already hurting enough, and part of that was her fault. She wouldn't hurt him further.

Instead, she reached over and took his wrist, drawing his hand to rest on her baby girl. It never failed to make Jack smile, and it didn't fail now. She said softly, "I am gonna have a baby in about six weeks, Jack Harkness. And when I have that baby, you'll have someone else to look after. So when I go into labor with my daughter, you will be informed, and I expect you to be there, waiting with John. I am gonna put my little girl in your arms, and you will probably cry a little, and flirt with her outrageously, and promise to be there for her as much as you can. Now you know that ever since we got back from our trip to Hoover Dam, I've told you things that turned out to be true. This is one of them. This _will_ happen, Jack. Bank on it."

There was no time left for either of them to say anything, as they reached the house. Corinna gave Jack enough time to take off his ruined shirt before herding him onto the couch, fussing over him all the while. It was the measure of how exhausted he was, he didn't even protest when she left him on the couch while she retrieved the extra blankets. Instead, he lay back and let her cover him with the blankets. His eyes were closed, but he smiled as she stroked his hair, murmuring, "Can think of better places to be petted," then yelped when she slapped his shoulder again. He quieted as she went into the kitchen for a large glass of water (complete with ice cubes). Not surprisingly, he was asleep long before John got home. Even so, Corinna waited until they were in their bedroom before she told her husband about what transpired that evening, from what she remembered of the attack that took Jack's life to their conversation on the way home.

She concluded by telling him, "I want him there, John Keller. I don't think he even really realizes just how much he needs us, needs a family. We're his family, and I don't care if you have to pick him up from one of those awful places he frequents to get information, I want him there when our daughter is born." They sat on their bed, John holding her hands tightly, Corinna's eyes shining as she made her oath. She spoke a vow on their wedding day, when she took John Keller to be her husband. And she was speaking another one now.

She didn't stop to think about how strange it was, that she simply accepted Jack. One thing she truly believed was that the universe was far larger and far more vast than anyone ever considered. She didn't believe in aliens, but she didn't disbelieve, either. And tonight, she witnessed something that should have been impossible, but wasn't. When all was said and done, whatever else Jack Harkness was, he was her friend, and she loved him. Given a choice between accepting him as he was (no matter how strange that was) and losing him, there was no choice to be made.

John said quietly into the silence that followed Corinna's passionate speech, "I want him there, too, Rinna. Just understand, there might come a time when he has to leave us. I've been in touch with some of my contacts at UNIT, and apparently, Jack used to travel with someone called the Doctor." Corinna made a face. She didn't have much use for UNIT, but. . .wait. Her husband was in contact with UNIT. UNIT knew about Jack. His words from earlier that evening returned to her. He had been here for a little over a hundred years. Here, meaning Planet Earth? She shook her head before her mind could proceed down that path. She would think about that later. Right now, her main focus was on fulfilling the one thing she truly wanted.

Six weeks later, she received that greatest wish. One hour after Corinna gave birth to Alexandra Elizabeth Keller, her husband and honorary big brother were ushered into her hospital room. Jack instantly nicknamed the little girl 'Lexie,' as she nestled in her father's arms ('Lexie' was destined to be replaced with 'Lacey' a few years down the road because the little girl couldn't quite manage 'Lexie'). She watched fondly as her husband was immediately wrapped around their baby girl's itsy-bitsy pinky finger with just one yawn from the tiny rosebud mouth. And she blinked back tears as John eased their precious little one into Jack's arms, and he drew her to rest comfortably against her chest. There was none of the awkwardness she feared, or even wariness. There was, however, a glimmer in the bright blue eyes as he pressed a soft kiss to the tiny forehead.

_Take care of him, my daughter_, she thought, _take care of him because he is so terribly cavalier with his own life. Yes, he can die and come back, but it hurts him terribly. Love him, my Lexie. Love him and accept him, because when Jack Harkness loves, it's forever._ And as time went by, her daughter grew and fulfilled that wish. Sometimes by confronting him. . .sometimes by comforting him. . .and sometimes by being a sneaky little brat. Because as the years went by, just as her mother and father did before her, she learned the importance of choosing to be family.

FIN (for now)

Additional notes (because I have no way of knowing if anyone will read these stories, but I want everyone to know what they're getting into):

I'm working on mega-stories for _Lord of the Rings_ and _Star Wars_, so it may be sometime before I get the next story in the series up, which takes place when Corinna and John's daughter is eight. (And hopefully now that I've written this, Jack will shut up long enough for me to get back to Boromir and Obi-Wan for a while.) Please be patient-I have a lot going on right now, including an exhaustive job hunt and my sister-in-law's ongoing custody battle with her first husband.

I know Jack is somewhat subdued in this story, but he's had a different set of experiences than the man we met in _Everything Changes_. He's still playful, he still flirts, he's still sex on legs (and Corinna's remark about his smile is sooo true), and he's still damn ruthless when he needs to be. However, as we saw in the show, he's quite capable of being quiet, though not necessarily fading into the background. Besides, this is the first time I've written him, and I'm still trying to get his voice right.

This next point is _very_ important. When I get ready to write _Children of Earth_ in this particular universe (whenever that happens to be), Steven is NOT dying. Not Steven, nor any other child. I haven't decided how they deal with the 456-although I'm certain that the Autobots would have a few things to say to a group of extraterrestrial extortionists who get high on children. But I'll sacrifice any adult. . .and I do mean _any_. ._ ._before the children (see the end of point one).

Finally, all of the characters from the series will be here: Tosh, Rhys, Owen, Ianto, Suzie, and Gwen (although Gwen gets involved because Rhys is a member of NEST). Gray and John Hart will likely show up as well. Certain circumstances have changed (Sector Seven from the first TF movie is heavily involved with the events of _Cyberwoman_), but it'll be the same characters.


End file.
